Apple to “vigorously” defend itself in its lawsuit with Nokia

In the 10-K annual report (PDF) Apple filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (posted yesterday), the company made note that it plans to “vigorously” defend itself in a lawsuit that Nokia filed last week. The lawsuit claimed Apple had infringed multiple cellular and Wi-Fi patents in their iPhone, which Nokia apparently owned.

A portion of the filing can be found below:

The complaint alleges that these patents are essential to one or more of the GSM, UMTS and 802.11 wireless communications standards, and that the Company has the right to license these patents from plaintiff on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (“FRAND”) terms and conditions. Plaintiff seeks unspecified FRAND compensation and other relief. The Company’s response to the complaint is not yet due. The Company intends to defend the case vigorously.

In Nokia’s press release regarding the lawsuit, the company noted that approximately 40 other technology-related companies, according to Reuters, apparently including “virtually all the leading mobile device vendors,” have licensed the intellectual property but that Apple refused to agree to appropriate licensing terms.

Nokia could be seeking up to $1 billion in damages from Apple in what is likely to be a long and costly lawsuit, regardless of the eventual outcome.